Comments on: The Battle For Brainpower http://www.businesspundit.com/the-battle-for-brainpower/ Entrepreneurship, Startup Companies and Business Philosophy Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:54:25 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Bob McCarthy http://www.businesspundit.com/the-battle-for-brainpower/comment-page-1/#comment-1535 Bob McCarthy Mon, 09 Oct 2006 19:48:54 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=2879#comment-1535 To bring the implications of The Economist article closer to home, the Nellie Mae Educational Foundation (http://www.nmefdn.org/) earlier this year published the results of a study that raises important questions about the skill level of New England’s work force which, I might add, has implications for other sections of the country as well. The publication is available for reading on their web site. Click the “New England 2020” link and read "Young College-Educated Workers Predicted to Decline in New England." The entire report is available as a PDF To bring the implications of The Economist article closer to home, the Nellie Mae Educational Foundation (http://www.nmefdn.org/) earlier this year published the results of a study that raises important questions about the skill level of New England’s work force which, I might add, has implications for other sections of the country as well. The publication is available for reading on their web site. Click the “New England 2020” link and read “Young College-Educated Workers Predicted to Decline in New England.” The entire report is available as a PDF

]]> By: laurence haughton http://www.businesspundit.com/the-battle-for-brainpower/comment-page-1/#comment-1534 laurence haughton Mon, 09 Oct 2006 19:16:28 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=2879#comment-1534 Half the time I've heard someone say there are “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians”, they were lobbying to be named the "unquestioned" chief. They were sure the problem in business was a lack of people doing as "they" told them to do. The other times I've heard people say “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians”, they wanted leaders to get off their duff, stop pointing their fingers, stop big picture strategizing, and lead from the front and by example. If a leader is a coach, mentor, and gets their hands dirty doing it's very hard for me to see how you could have "too many." Bosses yeah... who needs another pontificating blowhard. But leadership is something else... I don't see how you can have too much. Half the time I’ve heard someone say there are “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians”, they were lobbying to be named the “unquestioned” chief. They were sure the problem in business was a lack of people doing as “they” told them to do.

The other times I’ve heard people say “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians”, they wanted leaders to get off their duff, stop pointing their fingers, stop big picture strategizing, and lead from the front and by example.

If a leader is a coach, mentor, and gets their hands dirty doing it’s very hard for me to see how you could have “too many.” Bosses yeah… who needs another pontificating blowhard. But leadership is something else… I don’t see how you can have too much.

]]> By: John W. McKenna http://www.businesspundit.com/the-battle-for-brainpower/comment-page-1/#comment-1533 John W. McKenna Mon, 09 Oct 2006 09:30:57 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=2879#comment-1533 “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians”, that’s what my grandmother would have said. Just like a car needs horsepower, an organization needs brainpower to move forward. Unfortunately, just like a car with more horsepower than traction ends up spinning its wheels, only so much that brainpower can be applied to an organization’s challenges before the situation becomes unbalanced. Google’s recent flurry of unfocused product development is a perfect example too many smart people leading too many smart projects with too little focus on their core value adding processes. Their obsession with “Smart” is another example of the Leadership Epidemic at work. This unbalanced, single-attribute focus has lead to an organization with too many leaders and not enough players to move the organization forward. Too many smart people working on too many smart projects resulted in a failure to deliver a solid product beyond “Search”. I think my grandmother would have referred to that as the stupid-is-as-stupid-does syndrome. “Too many chiefs and not enough Indians”, that’s what my grandmother would have said.

Just like a car needs horsepower, an organization needs brainpower to move forward. Unfortunately, just like a car with more horsepower than traction ends up spinning its wheels, only so much that brainpower can be applied to an organization’s challenges before the situation becomes unbalanced.

Google’s recent flurry of unfocused product development is a perfect example too many smart people leading too many smart projects with too little focus on their core value adding processes. Their obsession with “Smart” is another example of the Leadership Epidemic at work.

This unbalanced, single-attribute focus has lead to an organization with too many leaders and not enough players to move the organization forward. Too many smart people working on too many smart projects resulted in a failure to deliver a solid product beyond “Search”.

I think my grandmother would have referred to that as the stupid-is-as-stupid-does syndrome.

]]> By: david foster http://www.businesspundit.com/the-battle-for-brainpower/comment-page-1/#comment-1532 david foster Mon, 09 Oct 2006 02:23:35 +0000 http://www.businesspundit.com.php5-6.websitetestlink.com/?p=2879#comment-1532 People seem to assume that the importance of knowledge and talent are something new. When was the era when these things were *not* important? For example, the US textile industry was founded on equipment designs smuggled out of Britain--intellectual property, to use today's phrase. People seem to assume that the importance of knowledge and talent are something new. When was the era when these things were *not* important? For example, the US textile industry was founded on equipment designs smuggled out of Britain–intellectual property, to use today’s phrase.

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